white house counter-terrorism chief john brennan will appear before the senate intelligence committee. his confirmation hearing is expected to come just hours after lawmakers received a classified report on the rationale for drone strikes targeting americans who work with al qaeda overseas. >>> the federal government is already preparing for $1.2 trillion in across the board budget cuts. they will kick in if congress fails to agree on a different budget plan by the end of the month. as susan mcginnis reports, the pentagon is already slashing military costs. >>> reporter: the uss truman was scheduled to pull out of norfolk, virginia tomorrow to head to the persian gulf but wednesday afternoon word came that truman will stay in port in order to save money. >> playing the waiting game pretty much. it's not very nice not knowing when we're pulling out. >> reporter: the pentagon is cutting u.s. aircraft carriers' presence overseas ahead of $55 billion in budget cuts that kick in march 1. >> this is not a game. >> reporter: outgoing defense secretary leon panetta says congress' inability to